Disc Reviews
The Dirty Dozen 4K Review
When it comes down to World War II movies that actually show you the Men on a mission during wartime, The Dirty Dozen is king. 12 disgraced military officers – most of whom face either the death penalty or life in prison are given the opportunity to commute their sentences if they agree to go on a very dangerous mission to knock out some of the Nazi high command. Among them are the names of Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, Donald Sutherland, Telly Savalas, Clint Walker and John Cassavetes (who was nominated for an Academy Award for this role of the loudmouth Victor Franko, the eager-to-rebel member of the group).
They need a man to knock them into shape before leading them into hell, enter Lee Marvin’s Major John Reisman – a tough, sarcastic, but empathetic leader who probably is one wrong general away from being on the other side of the bars himself.
The group pitch their digs out in the countryside in order to train and get into shape. They knock against each other, against outside forces who would rather they all hanged than made it back onto any battlefield, and then the third act is the elongated mission itself, full of a lot of tension and some true horrors of war. Not every man is going to make it back, but many of them will find truth in their efforts and redemption in their hearts. Well. Most of them.
The 4K is the hardest selling point here because of the film quality. This was released back in 1967, and there are some issues down the line when it comes to the restoration. The film probably looks its worst in the opening scenes. There is visible blur, grain and noise. This could partly be down to the quality of the negative, the quality of the film that was shot, and perhaps the fact that both scenes were shot indoors. But once the opening credits start rolling, it looks better, but we are sadly stuck with a less-than-perfect picture, noise being the main issue.
Looking at the supplements: Disc one also has a couple of commentary tracks. An archive one from 2006 featuring cast and crew, which is excellent and a newly recorded film scholars’ track.
Disc two has a 30-minute making-of, which is crammed with so many surviving actors from the film at the time, being 2006, you realise how thankful you are that they made that, and yet it’s slightly annoying that it’s only 30 minutes long, but also you realise that 20 years have passed since that DVD edition came out. Some new appreciations, including from Arrow Video favourite Kim Newman. There is a neat almost 40-minute analysis of the score, and some new behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the film. There is also the inclusion of the 1985 TV-Movie sequel The Next Mission featuring returning actors Lee Marvin, Richard Jaekel and Ernest Borgnine.
As for this set as a whole, thankfully, the story, characters and everything else there within will save this from obscurity. And Archive and Arrow Video’s additions to the extras package certainly help make this more than a worthy buy.
Steven Hurst
SPECIAL FEATURES:
2-DISC 4K ULTRA HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- Collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by Sean Hogan and Paul Talbot as well as excerpts and photos from Dwayne Epstein’s Killin’ Generals: The Making of The Dirty Dozen, and Alain Silver and James Ursini’s What Ever Happened to Robert Aldrich? His Life and His Films
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tom Ralston
DISC 1 – FEATURE (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)
- Brand new 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative by Arrow Films
- 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Original restored lossless mono, 5.1 audio, and a newly restored 6.0 (70mm mix) track
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Brand new audio commentary by film scholars Alain Silver and James Ursini
- Archival audio commentary with actors Jim Brown, Trini Lopez, Stuart Cooper, and Colin Maitland, producer Kenneth Hyman, novelist E.M. Nathanson, film historian David J. Schow, and veteran military advisor Capt. Dale Dye
- Archival introduction to the film by actor Ernest Borgnine
- Theatrical trailer
- Image gallery
DISC 2 – SPECIAL FEATURES (BLU-RAY)
- The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission, a feature-length TV sequel starring Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine (standard definition only)
- Newly discovered on set footage and an interview with Lee Marvin from Peter Whitehead’s archive
- War Is Over, a brand new appreciation by film historian Kim Newman
- The War March, a brand new breakdown of Frank De Vol’s score by David Huckvale
- Armed and Deadly: The Making of The Dirty Dozen, an archive featurette on the making of the film
- The Filthy Thirteen: Real Stories Behind the Lines, an archive featurette on the history behind the film
- Operation Dirty Dozen, an original promotional featurette
- Combat Leadership: The Ultimate Challenge, a Navy recruitment film narrated by Lee Marvin
The Dirty Dozen is released on 16th November